Because the school had no staff dormitories, the teachers could only rest together in the auditorium for now. When Liang Mushui and the others found the teachers in the auditorium, they were startled by the scene before them.
Almost all of the male teachers and a small portion of the female teachers were wearing student uniforms, a sight they had never anticipated.
Teacher Liu, the head of the third-year high school class, was the first to notice Liang Mushui and the others. Teacher Liu was a figure who struck fear into the hearts of all third-year students, as she was extremely strict with both students and other teachers as the head of the graduating class. Although she never resorted to physical punishment or verbal abuse, students always felt an invisible pressure when facing Teacher Liu. At the same time, Teacher Liu was also very dedicated and responsible. Nearing 50 years old, she often overworked due to teaching duties, even visiting the hospital several times.
Liang Mushui had also been pulled aside by Teacher Liu for several talks. The main topic of these conversations was Teacher Liu's observation that Liang Mushui still had significant room for improvement in his studies but wasn't putting much effort into them, and she hoped he would try harder and be more diligent.
However, at that time, Liang Mushui just wanted to be a 'salted fish,' feeling that his academic performance being in the upper-middle range was already good enough. Coupled with Teacher Liu's usual busy schedule, the matter eventually faded away.
"Classmate Liang Mushui, is there something you need, coming here so late?" Teacher Liu recognized the student she had once paid attention to at a glance.
"I saw the blackboard at the school gate, so I have some questions I'd like to ask you teachers," Liang Mushui suddenly realized that the usually intimidating Teacher Liu had become approachable.
"Teacher Liu, are you currently the leader of the faculty and staff here?" When he saw the content on the blackboard, Liang Mushui guessed that the teachers were organized.
Teacher Liu paused, not expecting Liang Mushui to ask such a question, but she still briefly explained the current situation of the teachers to Liang Mushui.
The teachers were currently divided into two main groups. One group, led by Teacher Liu, consisted of female staff exploring the school's internal environment and comforting students; the mysterious space on the football field was their discovery. The remaining teachers, led by Teacher Chen, the chemistry teacher, went to explore outside the school. The teachers exploring outside the school had almost all died and been resurrected. Upon resurrection, the Resurrection Water Boat would only restore the state of their clothing at the time of death, so the teachers were mostly in rags and could only wear the school's spare uniforms for now.
"We've discovered the Wild Boar's weak spot. By attacking this weak spot, one person can take down a Wild Boar. So, I'd like to exchange this information for some weapons or skills from you," after understanding the teachers' situation, Liang Mushui directly stated his purpose.
When Liang Mushui saw on the blackboard that some teachers had already reached Level One, based on their current leveling experience, the teachers must have killed a large number of beasts and accumulated a certain amount of skills and equipment. So, he thought of exchanging information with the teachers, as mastering this information would make it much easier to kill the thick-skinned Wild Boar.
"Please wait a moment, I need to discuss this with the other teachers," Teacher Liu's first reaction to Liang Mushui's words was surprise.
Teacher Liu turned and left, finding several other teachers to discuss with. Soon after, Teacher Liu returned to Liang Mushui with the other teachers.
"I am Teacher Chen, the head of the chemistry group. Teacher Liu told me that you few killed the Wild Boar and even discovered its weak spot. You are truly amazing."
Teacher Chen appeared to be a middle-aged man in his 40s. However, being the head of the chemistry group meant he must possess some genuine talent and knowledge. Liang Mushui didn't know much about Teacher Chen, only having heard that he was very capable and had once published some academic papers that garnered widespread attention.
Teacher Chen was very surprised looking at these students. He deeply understood how difficult Wild Boar were to deal with; in gaming terms, they had high attack and high HP. Even if they stood still, letting you hack at them with a knife, you might not kill them even if your arm went numb.
"You said you want to exchange information for our weapons and skills. How exactly do you propose to do this?" Teacher Chen continued.
"I hope to exchange for four weapons and four skills," Liang Mushui said weakly. "I know this might be a bit much, but I believe that once you master the Wild Boar's weak spot, you'll definitely be able to gain much more in the future."
"I'd really like to agree, but we can't," Teacher Chen said with a wry smile.
It turned out that the reason the teachers had killed so many beasts today was entirely because Teacher Chen had used some of the school's existing chemical materials to make homemade bombs. However, these homemade bombs were almost useless against bears, too difficult to hit fast-moving wild cat, and not cost-effective against Wild Boar. Only Wild Wolves were most suitable; one homemade bomb thrown could directly injure a whole group. But today, they had killed about two hundred Wild Wolves and only obtained five skills and ten daggers. The daggers were nothing special, just a bit sharper than ordinary weapons, but the skills greatly surprised the teachers. The skill was called Wind Blade. After learning it, one could condense a sharp blade of wind between their hands and hurl it at enemies. The teachers had tested it; a single Wind Blade could directly incapacitate a Wild Dog, and like Savage Charge, it also consumed a quarter of the mana bar.
Unfortunately, the skills had already been learned by the teachers. Although the daggers were also not enough for all the teachers, they could still spare one or two for Liang Mushui and his group.
Upon hearing this, Liang Mushui and his group immediately coveted the Wind Blade skill. While an attack like Mi Feng's Savage Charge with a wood-cutting knife clearly had higher attack power, a long-range magic attack like Wind Blade was more appealing. However, they hadn't expected the drop rate to be so low—only 5 skills from over two hundred Wild Wolves. At the same time, they inwardly marveled that the older generation was indeed wiser; they had only managed to kill about ten beasts with great effort, while the teachers had killed over two hundred. Knowledge truly was power.
"Actually, I have another proposal," when he learned of the existence of the Wind Blade skill, he immediately thought of a way to acquire it. So, Liang Mushui thought for a moment and said.
"The reason we found the Wild Boar's weak spot is very likely related to my talent," Liang Mushui then explained to the teachers the process of how they killed the Wild Boar today and his talent.
"So, what is your proposal?" Teacher Chen looked deeply at Liang Mushui after hearing his words and asked.
"I want to hunt Wild Wolves with you to see if we can find their weaknesses or weak spots. If we do, then the Wind Blade skills that drop in the future will be prioritized for the four of us," Liang Mushui knew that the materials for making homemade bombs would eventually run out, and the teachers would sooner or later have to face those beasts head-on. So, if they could really find the Wild Wolves' weaknesses or weak spots, it would benefit everyone.
After hearing Liang Mushui's proposal, Teacher Chen readily agreed without much thought, because, just as Liang Mushui had imagined, they didn't have many materials left for bombs. If they continued using them at today's rate, all the bombs would be used up tomorrow. So, he sincerely hoped that Liang Mushui could find the Wild Wolves' weaknesses.
Thus, Teacher Chen and Liang Mushui's group agreed that early tomorrow morning, Teacher Chen would lead twenty people, forming a team of twenty-five with Liang Mushui's group of five, to hunt Wild Wolves.
Although the outcome wasn't what Liang Mushui initially envisioned, he had at least managed to gain the teachers' support.
Now, while they still had time before resting, they decided to explore the mysterious space the teachers had discovered to see if they could find any benefits. So, the five of them consulted the teachers for more details about Between Wind and Rain before leaving.
Watching the five of them leave, Teacher Chen and Teacher Liu exchanged glances, both seemingly understanding what the other was thinking.
After that voice appeared, the entire world changed. Even their bodies, belonging to people in their forties and fifties, became as vigorous as those of twenty-year-olds, which reignited their once dormant hearts.
Their most pressing goal now was to protect the students and also lead them out of the school to find more people. However, getting the students to accept their leadership couldn't be forced. Sharing information with everyone was to gain the students' goodwill and earn prestige. Next, they needed to find a way to become stronger and capable of protecting the students. Finally, they would wait for an opportune moment.
Teacher Chen and the others immediately recognized the potential in students like Liang Mushui. He had already been thinking of bringing them into the fold, and since Liang Mushui proposed joining them, Teacher Chen and the others went with the flow and readily agreed. Now he was already looking forward to tomorrow's operation, hoping that Liang Mushui and his group could truly bring them a surprise.
Meanwhile, Liang Mushui and his group quickly arrived at the football field. As soon as they stepped onto the grass, they were each teleported into a pavilion. Liang Mushui looked around; besides himself, there was only an endless expanse of grassland, silent and still. The sky was completely covered with dark clouds, making the entire space appear rather dim. Not far from the pavilion was a large stone tablet with the words 'Between Wind and Rain' inscribed on it.
Liang Mushui and his group had already learned from the teachers that this was a solo challenge dungeon. As soon as one left the pavilion, it would start raining, and if one got wet to a certain extent, they would be forcibly teleported out. The teachers hadn't yet figured out exactly what constituted a successful challenge, but they guessed it most likely involved avoiding the rain.
Liang Mushui took a deep breath and slowly walked out of the pavilion.
